Alec talks to Jace about him and Magnus
by ceredonia
Summary: Alec decides to (or, well, is forced to) talk to Jace about his relationship with Magnus.


"I really think you should just _talk_ to him." Magnus tossed a few shirts towards the bed and Alec reached up to catch them in mid-air, glaring at him.

"Do you have to throw things like that?"

"What? I'm helping you pack." Magnus reached into Alec's bottom drawer and pulled out an oversized sweatshirt with a giant hole stretching along the bottom of the hem. "Really, sweetie?"

"Shut up," Alec scowled, reaching out to grab it from his perfectly manicured hands. "That's one of my favorite sweatshirts." He carefully set it on the edge of the bed, folding the arms over it.

"But it's so…_sad_."

"It's not sad, it's...worn in."

"That doesn't make it good," Magnus said, shaking his head.

"Just keep packing. I'll go find him and talk to him, okay?" Alec trudged out of the room, leaving Magnus to himself standing in front of the dresser.

He waited a moment until he knew Alec was gone, walking over to the bed. He picked up the sweatshirt and frowned, inspecting it carefully. He shook his head and sighed, snapping his fingers. The cloth was instantly like new, soft to the touch, and the hole was gone. He smiled and folded it carefully, packing it into the open suitcase on the bed.

Alec walked down the hall, muttering to himself about how irritating Magnus was being about packing for a simple weekend vacation. It was supposed to be spur of the moment—he'd shown up a few hours earlier, suddenly appearing in Alec's room as he was napping. He'd had a long morning of training with Jace and Isabelle, and wasn't in the mood to stay calm when he was woken up by Magnus massaging his shoulders in bed. His parents still didn't know about the two of them, and it wasn't a conversation he wanted to have yet, no matter how often Magnus offered to sit them down over coffee to tell them.

"Hey, Jace, you in here?" He pushed open the door to Jace's room, glancing around the stark white room with barely anything in it. He saw Clary's jacket draped over the back of the chair at his desk, but neither of them were to be found. Alec sighed and closed the door, glancing back towards his own room. He hated the idea of leaving Magnus to his own devices for so long, but if he didn't talk to Jace it would be worse for him in the long run. Once Magnus got an idea in his head, he saw it through, and he really wanted Alec to be open and honest with Jace. It was his idea of being on equal terms, since he'd shared some of his own past with Alec.

Stupid equality in relationships.

Alec kicked the floor as he headed for the training room, passing by Isabelle's room. Her door was cracked open and he peeked inside, seeing her sitting at her vanity, trying out new hairstyles. She'd probably be thrilled to have Magnus around more, since he loved her hair so much, but he didn't want to get into it with her right then. He shook his head and kept moving.

The training room seemed empty when he poked his head inside, calling Jace's name. His voice echoed around in the massive room with no response. Deciding to give up he started backing out of the doorway, smacking into someone standing directly behind him.

"Hey, watch it," Jace said, stepping back. He had an apple in his hand and was slowly chewing on a bite of it as Alec shook his head, gathering his courage.

"I've been trying to find you," he said, annoyed. Jace shrugged, taking another bite of the apple.

"Well, you found me," he said, a few flecks of the juicy apple flying out of his mouth. Alec grimaced.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" he asked, trying to avoid curling a lip in disgust. Jace really needed to learn how to eat more delicately, but he knew that would never happen.

"Sure, whatever." He turned on his heel and started marching towards the kitchen, munching on the apple as he walked. Alec followed and they made their way through the house, stopping to glare at Church as they passed by, who gave them his practiced cat stink-eye.

"So what's up?" Jace asked, reaching into a cabinet to grab a glass. He tossed the now-bare apple core into the trash can and stuck the glass under the kitchen sink, turning the faucet to 'cold' to fill it. "I'm supposed to go meet Clary soon to give her back her jacket she left last night, so I don't have long."

"Last night?" Alec repeated, sitting on one of the stools at the counter. He raised an eyebrow as Jace shook his head.

"Nothing like that. Geez, man, get your head out of the gutter. She was over in the afternoon and left it in my room, and when she left last night she forgot it."

"Aha. Right."

"Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

Alec bit his lip and shifted on the stool uncomfortably. "Um…it's really not that big a deal, I guess. It can wait."

"You sure seemed to make a point to find me, just tell me." He took a swig of water as Alec shrugged.

"Well…you know Magnus?"

"The warlock? Yeah, course I do. We all do, remember? We went to that crazy party of his?" Jace let out a laugh. "God, that was the _best_. Simon turning into a rat, remember that? Good times, man. Good times."

"Yeah, well, I've kind of been hanging out with him lately. A lot."

"Simon? Clary didn't mention it, but whatever. If you want to hang out with that idiot—"

"Not _Simon_," Alec interrupted, shaking his head. "Magnus."

"Oh." Confusion washed over Jace's face as he looked straight at Alec. "Okay, so?"

"So, I mean, we're kind of…I don't know…"

"Oh. _Ohhh_." Jace's lips turned up into half of a wicked grin. "I get it."

"You're the first person I've told, and well, could you keep it a secret for now?" Alec could feel his face burning and he moved around on the stool, feeling his legs beginning to go numb. "Mom and Dad don't know, and I just don't want to tell them yet, okay?"

"Okay. Whatever you say." Jace came around the counter and sat on the stool next to him. "But why tell me first? Or, well, at all?"

"I don't know," Alec said, suddenly standing up. He still felt uncomfortable being too close to Jace, especially after everything. "I just…I wanted you to know, I guess."

"Sure." Jace still seemed confused, but at least he wasn't cracking jokes like usual. "Is everything okay?"

Alec nodded. "We're going on a trip, actually. He just surprised me with it; we're going to Europe I think. So I kind of need you to cover for me, if that's okay."

"How long?"

"A few days. Maybe just tell everyone I'm on an assignment from the Clave or something."

"I'll think of something." Jace stood up and placed a hand on Alec's arm. "Don't worry. I'm sure Magnus won't turn you into a newt or anything by accident."

"He's not like that," Alec argued, instantly irritated. God, Jace was so good at riling him up, and he fell for it every time.

"Kidding." Jace smiled, his face turning up into that impish grin he was so good at making. Alec felt his annoyance fade away and smiled back.

"Just be nice, okay? Nothing too obvious, but maybe keep the trash talking down to a minimum? Magnus already doesn't like you that much."

"Only because I don't have your _gorgeous blue eyes_," Jace mocked with a laugh.

"Shut up!"

"Oh, go make out with your boyfriend already," he said, taking another sip of his water. He set the glass on the counter as Alec scowled.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Yet."

"Whatever."

"How else do you think Magnus has survived this long? He probably knows how to get exactly what he wants."

Alec felt his cheeks flush. "Shut up!"

"Wow, still so good at counter arguments I see."

Alec reached out suddenly and pulled Jace into his arms, folding the smaller boy into his arms. He buried his face in Jace's shoulder and hugged him tightly, feeling Jace hug him back awkwardly. "Thanks for accepting me," he said quietly, keeping his arms around him.

"You're my brother; that's what I do," Jace replied, giving a half-shrug. Alec released him and stepped back, pushing his hair out of his eyes as he watched Jace look over him, raising an eyebrow.

"That was weird."

"Sorry," Alec said, laughing. "It's just a relief to get that off my chest."

"Go be with the crazy warlock now," Jace said, grabbing his water glass. He raised it to his lips as he left the kitchen, leaving Alec standing on the tile staring after him.

"What on Earth took you so long?"

Magnus was sitting on top of the suitcase on Alec's bed, inspecting his nails. The room was a disaster, covered in Alec's clothes and various items. He shook his head and pushed Magnus off the suitcase, making sure it was latched properly.

"I was talking to Jace," he replied, struggling to lift the large suitcase. He staggered back as it fell to the floor with a loud noise. He glared up at Magnus, who raised his arms and smiled.

"I couldn't decide what you should wear, so I packed a lot of stuff," he said. "How did it go?"

"It was fine."

"Just fine, or it went well? What did he say?"

"He said to have fun."

"Alec." Magnus stepped over to him and took his hands in his own, looking down at him. "I know how you felt about him, and I don't want to push anything you aren't ready for."

Alec smiled and pulled one of his hands away, reaching up to touch Magnus' cheek with his fingertips. "I know. I'm okay, really."

"Good, because I have non-refundable hotel rooms booked, and I hate to waste money. Let's get going, shall we?"

Alec sighed and grabbed the handle of the suitcase, dragging it behind him as he followed Magnus into the hallway.


End file.
